Learn More About Optimism Place
Our Mission & Vision:
Optimism Place Women’s Shelter and Support Services supports women alone or with children to live free of abuse by providing shelter and confidential, non-judgmental services. We are committed to ending the cycle of abuse and violence by raising awareness through prevention, intervention, education and advocacy.
Our History:
In the 1980’s, a group of people met to discuss the idea of creating a women’s shelter in Perth County. The Stratford steering committee commissioned a needs assessment, got the confirmation it expected, then began canvassing local churches and service clubs for financial support.
The Optimist Club of Stratford announced it would buy a house that could be used as a women’s shelter, then lease it back to the committee for $1 a year. To both honour the club’s generosity and express the feeling the shelter hoped to impart to the women who’d be staying there, the name Optimism Place was chosen.
Optimism Place officially opened in May 1983. Then, in 1994 Optimism Place was able to build a new, larger, bright, and fully accessible shelter on the city limits, thanks to provincial funding. We have been operating at this location ever since, serving more than 100 women and children a year.
Board of Directors
Optimism Place relies on a committed, women-led board of directors to help ensure the shelter continues to provide the best possible programs and services, while steering growth to meet future needs.
Board members are involved in such areas as financial decision-making, strategic planning, policy setting and fund-raising. It’s rewarding work that makes a difference in the lives of women and children.
If you think you might like to join our board we’d love to hear from you. Please click the button below to send an email with your cover letter and resume to Jasmine Clark, Executive Director.
Our Board Members:
Kate Graham, Chair
Heather McDowell, Vice Chair
Diane Lyoness, Treasurer
Ann Slater, Secretary
Nancy Preston, Director
Fleur Cooper, Director
Deborah Pratt-Weersink, Director
Danielle Ingram, Director
Leanne Gabel, Director